Innovative Methodologies for 21st Century Learning, Teaching and Assessment: A Convenience Sampling Investigation into the Use of Social Media Technologies in Higher Education

Abstract

The advent of the Web as a social technology has created opportunities for the creation of informal learning environments, which have potential for innovative methodologies in learning, teaching and assessment. However, as Wolfe (2001) admonishes, "contrary to the rhetoric of cheerleaders, the Web places greater demands on students than traditional modes of instruction" (pp. 2 -3). The pedagogical potential of these high tech, e-skilling, multimedia digital technologies to revolutionize teaching, learning and assessment will only be realized if the underlying theoretical foundations are well articulated and supporting evidence is provided through well-designed empirical research studies. This paper contributes to these two prospects in two ways. First, it articulates the theoretical framework drawn from the work of luminaries in pedagogy that posits cooperative, social learning strategies, as potential methodologies for effective pedagogy. Second, it describes the results of a convenience sampling case study, which investigated the use of cutting-edge social media technologies, namely Google + Discussion Circles, (GDCs), to shed some light on how the use of these social media technologies supported teaching, learning and assessment activities for 2 nd year Bachelor of Education students at a university in Australia.The research found, inter alia, that when students were given the opportunity to learn using GDCs, the majority took advantage of the academic, social and structural dynamics created by these technologies in many ways that supported their learning, assessment activities and overall academic outcomes. The research-based evidence shows that the benefits included high participation rates, great levels of interpersonal interactions among participants, pedagogically rich posts in the GDC streams, metacognitive processing, peer mentoring, ambiguity tolerance, anxiety and motivation. There was also considerable student engagement, exploration of issues, elaboration of what was being discussed in the GDCs, evaluation and explanation, consistent with Bybee et al. (2006) 5E Instructional model for supporting and maximizing students' learning. The evidence leads to the recommendation that pedagogues at universities and other institutions of higher education should explore opportunities for utilizing selected social media technologies in their pedagogical practices, because, if properly planned and implemented, these technologies appear to have potential so support effective learning, teaching and assessment in the 21 st century. Further research on this topic could also be very beneficial.

An Investigation into Perceptions of Facebook-use in Higher Education

“…This aspect regarding student engagement resulting from social media (Facebook) has been previously argued for in various research, e.g. by Graham (2014), Kivunja (2015), Lam (2014) and Sarapin and Morris (2015).…”

“…Another piece of research to be mentioned in this literature review is by Kivunja (2015), which discussed the potential benefits resulting from social media use in higher education. Kivunja (2015) argued that social media, which has been much researched for various applications, still has yet to be fully employed in higher education, but that it holds several benefits if it is.…”

“…Kivunja (2015) argued that social media, which has been much researched for various applications, still has yet to be fully employed in higher education, but that it holds several benefits if it is. Suggested benefits form utilizing social media such as Facebook included better student relationships developing as a result of more direct and indirect interaction (again in reference to Community of Practice Theory), high resulting student participation rates and subsequently ways of improving students' learning.…”

“…Suggested benefits form utilizing social media such as Facebook included better student relationships developing as a result of more direct and indirect interaction (again in reference to Community of Practice Theory), high resulting student participation rates and subsequently ways of improving students' learning. Kivunja (2015) argued that social media use in higher education has still to be more widely used, but that the potential benefits suggests that it is worthwhile to utilize this.…”

University Pedagogy: A New Culture is Emerging in Greek Higher Education

“…Hornsby and Osman (2014) point out that the teacher-focused learning model leads to information transmission whereas a conceptual change towards a student-focused model should be adopted when it comes to "challenging students to think deeply, critically and creatively" (p. 716). Kivunja (2015) adds that the incorporation of technology in modern learning approaches is necessary and argues that selected social media technologies, if properly planned and implemented, could act ccomplementarily to pedagogical practices, because they support learning activities and the overall academic outcomes, such as high participation, interpersonal interactions among participants, metacognitive skills, peer mentoring, motivation and considerable student engagement. Kedraka and Dimasi (2015) refer to the importance of University Pedagogy, which although has been highlighted in the educational legislation since the 19th century (!…”